At first I have to admit I wasn't sure what exactly it was meant for 'Focus Group', until I fully read the Reader 6 Tools for Professional Inquiry and understood its capabilities.
There may situations where participants prefer to tell their story within a supportive group context, and this atmosphere can open up issues that that individual participants may not think about on their on. (Descombe, 2007, p. 179.)
It's probably so far the best way for me to obtain new knowledge for my inquiry development. I found the opportunity of exchanging ideas and opinions within a focus group very useful.
I organized a focus group with 3 professionals friends of mine, that are in 3 very different stages of their career.
We talked freely about certain main topics I had previously set:
- Where at artistically (un-employed/employed)
- Professional experiences
- Ways of maintenance as a performer (when resting and during jobs)
- Differences in cultures
- Differences in trainings
As a way of analyzing the data, I decided to write down notes during the focus group to then analyze them in a second moment, summing up everything that came up that had an impact and importance for my inquiry.
I have firstly met my friends in a central bar in London where I knew there was a cozy and intimate place to ask question and talk freely, then provided refreshments and started my focus group.
I didn't need to have the session monitored by a gatekeeper as this wasn't handle within an organization, therefore I was the only one with the role of moderator. I firstly explained the reason way I was conducting this kind of group interview and then asked verbally if I could have used their names and quotes for my project.
It was of great value for me that the 3 professionals where at very different points of their career/training, and that for me was a great occasion to compare activities and ways of thinking depending on their personal situations.
The participants were Saori Oda, a very well established Japanese dancer, trained at The Urdang Academy, at that time just in the process of ending her second contract in the West End show 'Wicked'.
The second interviewee was Ughetta Pratesi, an Italian actress/dancer trained at Laines Theatre Arts College and at the Guilford School of Acting, with some work experience in London but currently in a resting period as a performer but working as a ballet teacher in a dance school for kids.
Last but not least was another dancer (friend of Ughetta who preferred not to be named) who was living in London for a period of 2 months mainly to get as much training as possible in dance; still in training so in a perfect condition for me to listen to as she is fresh into the field of performing, very passionate about it but still in the making process of forming as a professional. What was interested of her was the fact that as an Italian dancer, she decided to come to London to gain more training skills as a dancer.
Even if probably a little weird for the readers, I classified the professionals with a 'stage number' considering their position as professionals, to get my analysis and my reflection easier when putting it down into words. I gave Saori a Stage N*3, Ughetta a Stage N*2 and the third dancer a Stage N*1.
Mostly the Focus Group went on with me giving topics for discussion and them talking freely about it.
Regarding ways to keep up physically and vocally was very interesting to see how differently the 3 stages worked.
Stage N*1
She told how little she took dance classes in the past year even though she is a professional dancer. Being in a full time West End show doesn't give you spare time to take classes and also the level of physical stress of dancing 8 shows a week is enough for a dancer body and a great workout.
About singing lessons she explained us that she may have sometimes taken vocal coaching rather than pure singing lessons as her vocal ability was well trained and always on shape because of the show, so only needed coaching on how to use her voice at its best and to help hearing herself while singing during the show. Hitting the same notes and steps for a long period of time can cause the performers to get used to moves and notes and sometimes it's hard to listen and think on stage but instead your body and voice work on their own. That's when she would think about recurring to extra classes outside the show.
On the other end, when previously performing in a show only as a singer, she instead found it hard not to dance and she would personally join the dance troop to warm up as a self-management skill she acquired as a dancer, not to loose shape while in a 6 months contract not as a dancer.
It was of a great value to analyze how different she would behave compared to the other two participants as she didn’t need to take many dance or singing lesson as the show was already keeping her in shape. Also she wasn’t worried about resting after this contract as she was strongly positive she was going to get good auditions by her agent because of her already established CV.
When starting the topic of Training Differences, very strongly was pointed out by Stage N* 1&2 how good it is, here in London, to be able to join classes whenever you want following the teachers you prefer to be taught by; this isn't an option in Italy as to be able to train in dance you would have to join a full course at a dance school or join random workshops around the country. It's hard to find valuable teachers anywhere and you have to be lucky enough to end up in a dance school where the teachers are fully trained and experienced. They compared how easy it is here to research on a teacher and follow their classes around different schools, something very unlikely to happen in Italy.
Stage N* 2 explained that back home she couldn't find a balance between good teaching and good assistance and personal help, she also pointed out that she was talking mainly from her experience in Florence, where she comes from, which is probably not one of the biggest cities, like Rome or Milan, where there are better schools.
In Italy, dance (especially ballet) is well established but unless you come form a major city you would probably join the local club and usually the level of teaching is debatable, it may be good when in younger age but when it comes to professional dancing you would have to move to bigger cities where you have more opportunities to find good teaching levels.
At this point I found myself strongly agreeing with the 2 Italians participants as that is also my experience back home, but at that point I realize I was probably being bias and slightly letting out of the conversation Stage N*3. It was my first ethical issue I encountered within the Focus Group; I straight away stepped out of the conversation trying as much as possible not to lead the participants towards my believes or let them out of the discussion.
Stage N*1's testimony was excellent as she gave comparison between Italian and UK’s ways of teaching dance. She believed here in London was extremely useful for her to be able to join dance classes at different organizations and schools having the opportunity to decide what level to join and to try out different teacher’s and dance styles. In Italy, she explained, she doesn’t find this type of possibilities as dance colleges are strictly closed to a certain number of teachers and that you would have to join the entire course with the fees that occur. Here, she was able to participate to several different dance classes, finding the ones that worked best for her needs, building a consistency of dance classes at a daily bases without having to be stuck to only one organisation. For here this was an unbelievable possibility for a dancer and she is probably consider moving here full time.
The second interviewee was Ughetta Pratesi, an Italian actress/dancer trained at Laines Theatre Arts College and at the Guilford School of Acting, with some work experience in London but currently in a resting period as a performer but working as a ballet teacher in a dance school for kids.
Last but not least was another dancer (friend of Ughetta who preferred not to be named) who was living in London for a period of 2 months mainly to get as much training as possible in dance; still in training so in a perfect condition for me to listen to as she is fresh into the field of performing, very passionate about it but still in the making process of forming as a professional. What was interested of her was the fact that as an Italian dancer, she decided to come to London to gain more training skills as a dancer.
Even if probably a little weird for the readers, I classified the professionals with a 'stage number' considering their position as professionals, to get my analysis and my reflection easier when putting it down into words. I gave Saori a Stage N*3, Ughetta a Stage N*2 and the third dancer a Stage N*1.
Mostly the Focus Group went on with me giving topics for discussion and them talking freely about it.
Regarding ways to keep up physically and vocally was very interesting to see how differently the 3 stages worked.
Stage N*1
She told how little she took dance classes in the past year even though she is a professional dancer. Being in a full time West End show doesn't give you spare time to take classes and also the level of physical stress of dancing 8 shows a week is enough for a dancer body and a great workout.
About singing lessons she explained us that she may have sometimes taken vocal coaching rather than pure singing lessons as her vocal ability was well trained and always on shape because of the show, so only needed coaching on how to use her voice at its best and to help hearing herself while singing during the show. Hitting the same notes and steps for a long period of time can cause the performers to get used to moves and notes and sometimes it's hard to listen and think on stage but instead your body and voice work on their own. That's when she would think about recurring to extra classes outside the show.
On the other end, when previously performing in a show only as a singer, she instead found it hard not to dance and she would personally join the dance troop to warm up as a self-management skill she acquired as a dancer, not to loose shape while in a 6 months contract not as a dancer.
It was of a great value to analyze how different she would behave compared to the other two participants as she didn’t need to take many dance or singing lesson as the show was already keeping her in shape. Also she wasn’t worried about resting after this contract as she was strongly positive she was going to get good auditions by her agent because of her already established CV.
It made me think that it’s a that level that we (performers) have to work up to; but is the job really that easy afterwards? Once you are in the loop, is it really that easy to keep working or you could easily go from top to bottom and having to start over again?
Another good part of our conversation was about injuries; during her 16 months performing she encountered several injuries related to how the stage was inclined and the stress that that causes to her back when dancing. So another valuable issue of being an established performer could be having to focus more on how to prevent yourself from injuring in different work environments. What do you have to do in order to protect yourself while already working?
Stage N*2 stated how hard it is to take dance classes while off work, but still working as a temp to pay the bills. She manages to take at least one class per week of Ballet or Jazz, joining dance classes at Pineapple Studios, Dance Works or Dance Attic, all dance schools that permit you to pay for singular classes and a whatever level you feel more suitable.When starting the topic of Training Differences, very strongly was pointed out by Stage N* 1&2 how good it is, here in London, to be able to join classes whenever you want following the teachers you prefer to be taught by; this isn't an option in Italy as to be able to train in dance you would have to join a full course at a dance school or join random workshops around the country. It's hard to find valuable teachers anywhere and you have to be lucky enough to end up in a dance school where the teachers are fully trained and experienced. They compared how easy it is here to research on a teacher and follow their classes around different schools, something very unlikely to happen in Italy.
Stage N* 2 explained that back home she couldn't find a balance between good teaching and good assistance and personal help, she also pointed out that she was talking mainly from her experience in Florence, where she comes from, which is probably not one of the biggest cities, like Rome or Milan, where there are better schools.
In Italy, dance (especially ballet) is well established but unless you come form a major city you would probably join the local club and usually the level of teaching is debatable, it may be good when in younger age but when it comes to professional dancing you would have to move to bigger cities where you have more opportunities to find good teaching levels.
At this point I found myself strongly agreeing with the 2 Italians participants as that is also my experience back home, but at that point I realize I was probably being bias and slightly letting out of the conversation Stage N*3. It was my first ethical issue I encountered within the Focus Group; I straight away stepped out of the conversation trying as much as possible not to lead the participants towards my believes or let them out of the discussion.
Further talking about Differences in Cultures the thing that Stage N*2 said that mostly interested me during the focus group, was how the Musical Theatre culture is still not embraced in Italy and how reality shows such as “Amici” (the Italian version of the Tv show Fame) inculcate the wrong idea of how a professional college in Musical Theatre should be and how auditions process work.
She explained how frustrated she was when she would go back home while still in training in London, and would follow the show; she explained that most of the participants would get angry and rude to the panel when an audition was held. That, she kept going, "is not how a professional audition would work, that was just a reality show to gain more audience figures; you just don’t argue about a decision that the panel takes"(Pratesi, 2011). That show was very popular in the country; therefore many performers that try out a career in MT in Italy had a really bad example to follow.
Stage N*3 told us she found Uk's productions and professionals much more easy to approach and to work with, a funnier and happier environment compared to the Japanese one. In the past she performed in the Japanese musical version of 'The Phantom of The Opera' and explained how everybody took rehearsals and the show very seriously but taking out of the experience what's actually fun and enjoyable for performers when at work. She compared the show she recently starred in as much more fun to do, where everyone, from the ensemble dancers to the principals roles, had a good relationship among them and where all at the same level of human relations.
Probably that has to do with the fact that Musical is part of the British culture and therefore it's felt more by the audience and their makers.
Stage N*2 expressed "... how we don't understand MT in Italy because of the strong tradition we have of opera and straight theatre. Therefore the explanation why we don't really have a mixed training but we focus on one particular discipline. You either are a good singer or a good dancer..." (Pratesi, 2011). To promote Musical Theatre productions that are slightly taking stage in Italy, they still have to hire famous TV personalities or reality show's talents to attract audiences, reconnecting to what she said about the poor quality of talents come out of reality shows.
These are the most valuable information I gathered for my Inquiry plan; the Focus Group lasted around a couple of hours but without feeling the tiredness or the situation being too formal; with cafes in front of us and sat at a nice bar, the whole experience felt really confortable for the participants and for myself to moderate.
I although did find it hard to write down everything said, so next time I would probably consider trying a recording device, but I do believe this tool for inquiry is very useful for the type of research I'm heading towards. It can collect a great number of valuable data with the possibilities of heading towards a something maybe not previously considered by me, the researcher. It can develop itself on a greater level of knowledge.
She explained how frustrated she was when she would go back home while still in training in London, and would follow the show; she explained that most of the participants would get angry and rude to the panel when an audition was held. That, she kept going, "is not how a professional audition would work, that was just a reality show to gain more audience figures; you just don’t argue about a decision that the panel takes"(Pratesi, 2011). That show was very popular in the country; therefore many performers that try out a career in MT in Italy had a really bad example to follow.
Stage N*3 told us she found Uk's productions and professionals much more easy to approach and to work with, a funnier and happier environment compared to the Japanese one. In the past she performed in the Japanese musical version of 'The Phantom of The Opera' and explained how everybody took rehearsals and the show very seriously but taking out of the experience what's actually fun and enjoyable for performers when at work. She compared the show she recently starred in as much more fun to do, where everyone, from the ensemble dancers to the principals roles, had a good relationship among them and where all at the same level of human relations.
Probably that has to do with the fact that Musical is part of the British culture and therefore it's felt more by the audience and their makers.
Stage N*2 expressed "... how we don't understand MT in Italy because of the strong tradition we have of opera and straight theatre. Therefore the explanation why we don't really have a mixed training but we focus on one particular discipline. You either are a good singer or a good dancer..." (Pratesi, 2011). To promote Musical Theatre productions that are slightly taking stage in Italy, they still have to hire famous TV personalities or reality show's talents to attract audiences, reconnecting to what she said about the poor quality of talents come out of reality shows.
These are the most valuable information I gathered for my Inquiry plan; the Focus Group lasted around a couple of hours but without feeling the tiredness or the situation being too formal; with cafes in front of us and sat at a nice bar, the whole experience felt really confortable for the participants and for myself to moderate.
I although did find it hard to write down everything said, so next time I would probably consider trying a recording device, but I do believe this tool for inquiry is very useful for the type of research I'm heading towards. It can collect a great number of valuable data with the possibilities of heading towards a something maybe not previously considered by me, the researcher. It can develop itself on a greater level of knowledge.
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